Congratulations!!!
You have an offer!
Offer details:
Offer price: what the buyer wants to pay for your property
How to respond: Send us an email that we can forward to the buyer’s agent as your response. Your contact information will not be included when we send it over to the buyer’s agent.
When accepting an offer: Thank the buyer for the offer. Make them feel “warm & fuzzy” towards the purchase and towards you. A positive gesture in the beginning can set the tone for the entire process. The more the buyers are attached to the property and feel good about you the better things should go moving forward.
When countering an offer: Thank the buyer for the offer and explain the details of the counter offer. Remember the buyer is a person and not just “an offer”. Your feelings about the property are not relevant here but the expensive upgrades and receipts for those items are very important. Listing all the hard work and money put into the property in the past 5 years or less goes a long way in making the buyer see the value. We have probably already given the buyer’s agent this information but it helps to say it again from your perspective in the response.
Be reasonable in your counter offer: If the buyer made a low offer don’t be offended. Any offer is something to say “thank you” for because time and effort went into the process from their side. Go back to any offer with a grateful heart and a reasonable counter offer. Think positive and let’s see where we can go with good communication with the buyer’s agent. Saying an offer is “too low” to counter is not the correct attitude or response. We have seen many deals go to closing that started out with offers that were much lower than the seller would accept. One comes to mind that took 3 months of negotiations and in the end everyone was happy and the closing happened.
Due Diligence Fee: Deposit money paid by the buyer to the seller and is not refundable to the buyer. The Due Diligence Fee goes toward the purchase at closing.
Earnest Money Deposit: Deposit money paid by the buyer and held in escrow by the buyer’s real estate attorney or the seller’s real estate firm. Earnest Money goes toward the purchase at closing. Earnest Money is refundable to the buyer if they terminate the Offer to Purchase in writing to the seller by 5pm on the day of Due Diligence as stated in the Offer to Purchase. Both the buyer and seller have to sign the termination form for the money to be refunded from the trust account.
Due Diligence Date: During the Due Diligence period the buyer is allowed to do all inspections they wish to do on the property.
Closing Date/Settlement Date: Signing at the attorney’s office is not the closing. Closing happens when the attorney records the deed at the courthouse. The property does not belong to the buyer until the deed is recorded by the attorney and this does not always happen the day of signing.
Escrow Agent: Firm authorized to hold the Earnest Money in a trust account.
Personal Property: Items that are not physically attached to the property but the buyer is requesting to convey with the property at closing. Examples: Office Desk, Refrigerator, Pool Table, Window Treatments, Mirror on Mantle.
Please read all the documents carefully and many of your questions will be answered.
What other questions do you have for our team?
Disclaimer: The Carswell Team at RE/MAX A-Team does not practice law and can’t interpret the documents from a legal perspective. Please consult with your real estate attorney if you have questions about the real estate purchase process or the documents involved.